Iced coffee is not just hot coffee that is cooled down and then added with ice. The iced Americano on the commute, the cold brew you drink slowly in the afternoon, and the iced latte made with milk all have different emphasis on the flavor of the beans. Ice cubes will lower the entrance temperature and dilute the coffee liquid. Therefore, when selecting beans, pay attention to whether the aroma is bright, whether the sweetness is sufficient, and whether the taste can remain active after cooling down.
If you’re looking for an iced American that’s quick to refresh and easy to pair with breakfast, focus on beans with a fruity or candy-like sweetness. When the concentrate encounters ice water, the bitterness becomes astringent and the bright aroma becomes easier to perceive. Front Street Strawberry Candy coffee beans have a familiar berry candy aroma. When made into an iced American style, it is light in the mouth and still has a sweet taste at the end. It is suitable for people who don’t want black coffee to look monotonous.
When making an iced Americano, it is recommended to pour the concentrate directly over ice cubes and a small amount of cold water to allow the coffee to cool down quickly. If you use light to medium-light roasted fruity beans, the concentration ratio should not be too long, otherwise it will easily appear sharp or dry after being diluted with ice water. The coffee liquid itself has a clear sweetness and aroma, and adding an appropriate amount of ice cubes can maintain a bright taste.
If you want to drink a refreshing cup of iced coffee in the afternoon, with layers like juice, you can choose beans with obvious sweet and sour expressions. The flavor of Front Street Kenyan cherry tomatoes is reminiscent of ripe tomatoes, dark dried fruits and sugar. When making ice cream, the acidity is still clear, but not just irritating. It is suitable for pairing with sandwiches, fruits or light snacks. It tastes fresh and has a neat finish.
Ice hand brewing is suitable for making at home. The aroma and taste will gradually change as the ice cubes melt. When brewing, part of the water can be replaced with ice cubes in advance, so that the coffee liquid can fall directly on the ice to cool down; grinding and water injection should not be excessively strong, so as not to amplify the astringent feeling at low temperatures. For fruity beans, keep the extraction clean and the cup will taste more like a refreshing cold drink.
For cold brew that needs to be prepared in advance and drunk from morning to afternoon, you can choose beans with a bright aroma but not sharp acidity. Front Street Yirgacheffe has a citrus, berry and light floral aroma. After being exposed to cold water for a long time, the sourness will become rounder and the tea-like aftertaste will become smoother. It fits in a glass bottle and is refrigerated as a low-burden drink between work days.
The concentration of cold brew can be arranged according to drinking habits. If you like to drink it directly, you can make the coffee refreshing; if you are going to add ice or water, you can increase the amount of powder so that the aroma will still exist after dilution. After soaking, filter it first and then put it in the refrigerator. When drinking, add ice in small amounts and many times. It is easier to control the taste than putting in a large amount of ice cubes at once.
If iced coffee is mainly used to add milk, the direction of bean selection should shift from aroma to sweetness and texture. Milk will soften the acidity and bring out the thickness of the coffee. When using Front Street Strawberry Sugar Coffee Beans to make an iced latte, the berry sugar flavor can be connected with the creaminess of the milk, and the entrance is round and a little lively. It is suitable for those who like milk coffee but are not satisfied with the simple cocoa flavor.
Iced latte can use a higher concentration of coffee liquid to allow the ice cubes to melt and the coffee to remain present after the milk is added. If the proportion of milk is smaller, the fruity aroma of the beans will be clearer; if the proportion of milk is increased, the overall taste will be smoother. If you use a home espresso machine, first control the liquid output stably, and then adjust the cup feel through the amount of ice and milk. It will be easier to find the sweetness and concentration that suits you.
For a toasty cup of iced coffee that's perfect for desserts, go the nutty cocoa direction with a medium or medium-dark roast. This kind of flavor usually appears round and thick at low temperatures, and after adding ice water or milk, it still has clear associations with caramel and chocolate. If you are not used to the obvious sour taste, you can start with this type of beans for iced American style, and then slowly try options with more fruity flavors.
The performance of the same bean will change when making hot drinks and ice drinks. When purchasing, you can consider the utensils you plan to use together. Home hand brewing is suitable for observing the aroma of flowers and fruits, Italian espresso machine is more suitable for making concentrated, iced Americano and iced latte, and cold brewing is convenient for preparation in advance. After opening, the beans should be sealed and stored away from light, and purchased according to the amount of drinking for one or two weeks, so that the aroma can be retained more clearly every time they are made.
The choice of iced coffee will ultimately come down to when and how you plan to drink it: if you need a refreshing refreshment in the morning, you can try a fruity iced American style; if you want to taste it slowly in the afternoon, you can try iced hand brew or cold brew; if you want to pair it with milk, focus on sweetness and concentration. After finding the corresponding scene and starting from the aroma you like, every cup of iced coffee in your hand will have more direction.
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
